How To Make 2023 Your Most Transformative Year
I’ve always been a big goal-setter, but most of the time I wasn’t a big goal-achiever. Every January I would set New Year’s resolutions, mostly the kind we think we are supposed to: lose x pounds, save x money, do x to get a promotion.
But week after week, those big plans would evaporate. At the end of the year, I’d beat myself up for having yet again wasted another twelve months.
After a period of deep self-reflection and personal growth, I finally recognized that I was making several critical mistakes.
Mistake #1: My goals were based on what the external world said were important achievements, not the unique vision for my life.
Mistake #2: I didn’t understand that my vision existed, nor had I taken steps to surface it and make it the centerpiece of my planning.
Mistake #3: I focused on getting instead of being. I was trying to achieve fitness goals, while being a person who felt out of shape.
Unfortunately, most folks make the same mistakes I did, and that’s why the majority of resolutions are toast by February 1st.
Make this the year you finally achieve your goals.
Here’s how to start:
Step 1: Get clear on the vision for your year.
Before you set resolutions or goals, make sure they are aligned with what you really want for your life over the next twelve months.
Close your eyes and imagine it is 12/31 and you’ve accomplished a lot in the past year. Where are you? Who are you with? What are you doing? How are your relationships? How do you look? What is your financial state?
Step 2: Now narrow your focus to how you feel.
If you want to experience a transformation this year, you’ve got to get clear on why you want change. It’s almost always because you want to feel a certain way.
Explore how you feel on 12/31. Do you feel energetic, enthusiastic, optimistic, loving, generous, abundant, free…?
Step 3: Start being the person you want to be NOW.
Often we wait until we’ve accomplished our goals to feel the way we want to. That’s backwards thinking. Instead, start embodying those feelings now.
Turn those feelings into intentions. Example: I intend to be abundant and free from financial stress. Use these as affirmations (I set them as daily reminders on my phone).
